Development of a Wearable Assistive Robot for Baggage-Loading Operations

Abstract

In this work, a wearable assistive robot is developed to assist baggage handlers load heavy luggage onto a cargo container. Therefore, the baggage handling procedure was first analyzed using an image processing method. An optimized assignment of pneumatic artificial muscle actuators and motion timings was then proposed. The designed robot is driven by two pneumatic artificial muscles to assist the leaning back and rotational motion of the upper body. Additionally, an assistive mechanism for the hip and knee joints assists joint extension using a flat spiral spring. Especially, the assistive mechanism of a knee joint is adapted for the roll-back motion. Preliminary result of the proposed wearable robot indicates that is reduced about 33% in the mean muscle activity during leaning backward, rotation of the spine, and flexion of the hip joint when handling a 10kgf baggage. Furthermore, it is confirmed that the mean muscle activity of the knee joint is reduced about 15% during lifting-operation, too. Thus, the proposed assistive robot should be further investigated for baggage-loading operations.